Apple reverses resistible rise of Android

Android's share of the smartphone market is waning, at least in the US.

Market watcher Strategy Analytics, which tracks phone shipments and such, today noted that Android's Stateside share had fallen from 60.6 per cent in Q2 2011 to 56.3 per cent in 2012's second quarter, on the back of a 12.4 per cent decline in unit shipments.

RIM's share dropped too, from 10.5 per cent to 6.5 per cent - "its lowest level in recent history", said SA analyst Scott Bicheno - as its unit shipments fell from 2.7m to 1.6m between the two quarters, a decline of 40.7 per cent.

The one company to gain from these platforms' misfortune? Not Microsoft, that's for darn sure as mustard, its share failing to lift it out of the anonymous 'Others' category.

No, it's Apple, of course, its market share rising ten percentage points to 33.2 per cent on the back of a 33.9 year-on-year increase in shipments into the States.

Not that the Cupertino company has excuse for cockiness - though it's never felt the need for one - as its smartphone share has, in the past, been rather more than a third of the market. Still, Apple knows it doesn't need to dominate the market to continue making a pretty penny. And it'll make a whole lot more if the iPhone 5 ships in a couple of months' time if, as it's expected to. ®